Watchstrap

.
“Unfortunately,” I replied, “£5.62 + £2.56 (postage and packing) = £8.18 – which is still more expensive than buying a completely new watch from Amazon, discarding the watch and just using the strap for my existing one.”

Since I was teenager, the kind of watch I have worn, more than any other, has been a fairly basic Casio digital watch. Reasonably hard wearing, it has a good battery life, is water resistant, tells me at a glance what day and date it is, has a stopwatch, an alarm, a little light I can press so I can see the display in the dark, and isn’t expensive. On top of all that, it even tells me the time reasonably accurately.

Over the years I’ve periodically had different watches, which have looked a bit more modern or professional, but they’ve not had the functionality, or they’ve broken easily, or have even been lost. Each time I’ve found myself watchless, I’ve ended up buying another Casio digital. They do everything I need them to and if they are lost or broken, then it doesn’t break the bank to replace it.

This one is my 4th or 5th.

The only weak point is the strap, and this latest lasted only 15 months before it tore off at the point at which I connect the buckle.

I wandered down to the local cobblers, which also does key cutting and watch straps, only to find their straps started at £7.99. Considering I could buy a brand new watch from Amazon for 2p less, and the P&P would be free, I couldn’t bring myself to pay more for a strap than I had for the watch.

And yet, the idea of buying a new watch, just because of the strap, when the actual watch part still has a few years of life left in it, made me wince. My inner anti-consumer-society, green-aware, recycling-conscious conscience started prodding me.

I checked out the other shops in town, but nowhere else sold watch straps without watches attached to them. Back home I went online where they seemed to start at £12 and go upwards.

Finally, in frustration, I sent an email to Casio explaining my dilemma. 2 days later I received a reply telling me the part I needed was only £5.62 + £2.56 P&P.

I started typing my response, which is where you joined the tale. I also added in a bit about how this bizarre situation was likely to end up as a blog post for my 950 followers and it would be nice to write that Casio had come up with a solution.

By this time, the weekend was upon us so when we had to go into Dumfries for a few other bits and pieces, I wandered off to try and find a watchstrap. Once again, only cobblers seemed to sell them without watches pre-attached. The first I visited had them starting from £7.99, but I managed to find another which sold them for £7. Hardly a huge saving, but it felt like some kind of principle was at stake, and by now I was fed up with constantly looking at a bare wrist before remembering to fish my watch out of my pocket each time I wanted to check the hour.

Yesterday I received a reply from Casio, which included the line, “my manger has given me a one off special price for you and we will waive the postage charge.” All I had to do was phone with my credit card details to get a new strap for £3.30.

I hummed and hawed for quite some time, but decided today to go ahead and buy one. I have no doubt I will need it in the future, but I’m unlikely to be able to pull of a stunt like that a second time.

I can't say I ever wear a watch in normal life now a days, I've got the time on my phone as a rule, But when I'm at work the one I have one almost identical to yours. It's cheap and does everything I want it to do perfectly and it's not a great disaster if it gets scratched or walloped with a scaffolding pole (although in the case of the later, it wouldn't be good due to the fact it's usually strapped round my wrist so the scaffolding pole would likely get me as well)

i totally understand what you mean! i have 6 watches given to me over the years that only need batteries. today, i realized that because of the work i do, i need to start wearing a watch again, just so i know what day and time it is when i'm not sitting at my MAC. good luck and yes, it was a very engaging post! xoxoxox

Years ago when I lived in California I bought my rice maker at a Japanese store and a few year later the lid cracked I called the store to see if they had a replacement lid. They didn't but gave me a number to call that was their supplier. I called and I ask if I could buy one glass lid. They said no problem and they would send one out that day. When I asked the price he said no charge. It was his pleasure to send me a replacement. They did, I still have the rice cooker, it is 15 years old and still works great.

I'm happy to have been one of the 950 followers that helped you get a deal...you should have bought two though!

Timex used to be my watch of choice, years ago I was mesmerized by John Cameron Swayze saying, "takes a lick'n and keeps on tick'n." I needed the sweep hand to check the pulse and respirations of patients.

When my last Timex died, I started using the time on my cellphone. Works fine unless I forget to recharge the phone...LOL

I believe watches are going the way of antimacassars, you have to be a certain age, or over, to see the point. So, yeah, you should have bought as many as you could, goodness knows how much they'll cost next time you need one.

Hope - The signal for my phone is so bad, I have to leave it on the windowsill at the front of the house. So that kind of kills the convenience factor of having the time on my phone.

Guyana Gal - by the sound of it, it would be cheaper to send you the money to buy me a made-in-china band and post it out to me :)

Savannah - I hope the batteries are not more expensive than the watches :)

Attila - a collector or hoarder?

Parsnip - wow, fancy getting a replacement for free!

Theanne & Baron - I used to have a Timex watch when I was a kid, but when I was at Uni in Dundee, there was a bitter dispute between workers and the owners of the Timex factory in Dundee, which ended with massive lay-offs, so we've not bought Timex since

Pat - :)

Eryl - I had to look up antimacassars - the name was unfamiliar, however, I did recognise them once I saw them